With his debut single ‘Just A Little’ having already racked up over 400,000 combined streams and broken into the top 200 in the German Airplay Chart in under 11 days, Finnish singer-songwriter Tomi Saario has today unveiled the track’s acoustic version, complete with an intimate new video.
Stripping back the lush pop hooks of the original, ‘Just A Little (Acoustic Version)’ brings Tomi’s enviable guitar skills to the fore, with his delicate finger picking accompanied by soft backing strings. The affectionate video mirrors the pillowtalk intimacy of the lyrics, with Tomi at first in bed with a lover before getting up to play to an empty auditorium, reflecting the personal, endorphin-filled rush of finding new love.
“Writing from the whole spectrum or circle of life within love is too wide,” says Tomi. “I need to draw inspiration from a certain moment like laying in bed on a Sunday and having someone just scribble something on your back with their finger.”
With a family full of fighter, stunt and airline pilots, plus an uncle who’s the most successful songwriter in Finland, Tomi was never going to be an ordinary guy. Having fallen in love with blues music aged seven listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn, it wasn’t until he was 17 that he wrote his first song, citing John Mayer and D’Angelo as major influences. Before then a career in football looked more likely, having represented his country at youth level, playing against the likes of Real Madrid. “But then I had the realisation that I was better at music and when I finally started writing songs it was a no brainer” he explains.
Before he could fully commit to music, however, he had to complete military service, which is mandatory in Finland. After a year in the urban warfare squad, an experience he describes as rewarding and life-enriching, he moved to one of the music capitals of the world: London. Gigging relentlessly, he played over 1,000 shows in four years, turning up at any open mic night that would have him in order to hone his performance skills.
The latest exciting Scandinavian export set to take the world by storm, 2020 sees Tomi primed to share his songs with the world. With plenty more earworms ready for release, an electrifying ‘Just A Little’ remix from SJUR coming later this month, and a show booked at East of Eden at The Slaughtered Lamb, London on 13th February, this is just the beginning of an exhilarating adventure for this talented young man.
